Over 55 million years ago the first horse like animal walked the earth (American Museum of Natural History). These horses were about the size of a dog with a variety of different colors and had three toes on one foot (American Museum of Natural History). Today’s horses range from 900 to around 1500 pounds and come in a variety of colors. Similarly to horses of the past, current horses still graze, eat hay and grasses.
Although time has passed people have negative beliefs of equine intelligence (Hanggi, 2005). Many people think that horses do not think and that they are “merely conditioned-response animal” have no sense of self and many more. But horses are able to do daily cognitive tasks that lead to greater mental challenges (Hanggi, 2005). …show more content…
In result the way the horses perceive affects the way that horses and humans interact. A question in regards to equine perception is how do horses perceive humans as a significant figure in their environment (Sankey, 2010)? The use of positive and negative reinforcement in horse training is tested to see if it has a negative, neutral or positive influence in horses perception of humans (Sankey, 2010). Horses were then tested to see their perception of humans just after the training and five months after training (Sankey, 2010). Two groups of horses were used and asked to walk backwards in response to a vocal command using either positive or negative reinforcement (Sankey, 2010).
This study showed that how the type of reinforcement used greatly affected the horse’s perception of people (Sankey, 2010). Familiar humans and unfamiliar human perception by horses was affected (Sankey, 2010). Negative reinforcement led to increased heart rates and angry behaviors such as pinning their ears back (Sankey, 2010). Negatively reinforced horses didn’t actively seek human contact (Sankey, 2010). Positively reinforced horses developed an increased interest in people even at the five-month mark (Sankey,
Although time has passed people have negative beliefs of equine intelligence (Hanggi, 2005). Many people think that horses do not think and that they are “merely conditioned-response animal” have no sense of self and many more. But horses are able to do daily cognitive tasks that lead to greater mental challenges (Hanggi, 2005). …show more content…
In result the way the horses perceive affects the way that horses and humans interact. A question in regards to equine perception is how do horses perceive humans as a significant figure in their environment (Sankey, 2010)? The use of positive and negative reinforcement in horse training is tested to see if it has a negative, neutral or positive influence in horses perception of humans (Sankey, 2010). Horses were then tested to see their perception of humans just after the training and five months after training (Sankey, 2010). Two groups of horses were used and asked to walk backwards in response to a vocal command using either positive or negative reinforcement (Sankey, 2010).
This study showed that how the type of reinforcement used greatly affected the horse’s perception of people (Sankey, 2010). Familiar humans and unfamiliar human perception by horses was affected (Sankey, 2010). Negative reinforcement led to increased heart rates and angry behaviors such as pinning their ears back (Sankey, 2010). Negatively reinforced horses didn’t actively seek human contact (Sankey, 2010). Positively reinforced horses developed an increased interest in people even at the five-month mark (Sankey,